Terminal Narcolepsy

Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Try reading one of my stories. It'll knock you right out! Sadly, today's story is about falling asleep, but because we can't help it.

Have you ever taken an accidental nap? You know. You're sitting in your comfy living room chair and you're watching the Packers game. Suddenly you wake up and the game's over.

"Did you have a nice nap?" your spouse asks. You wipe the drool off your lip and try to pretend that you're awake. Jesus' disciples had that very same problem.

"Then He (Jesus) returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter." - Matthew 26:40

I can imagine the Disciples got VERY tired, trying to keep up with Jesus and His ministry schedule. Walking everywhere, serving meals of fish and bread to 5,000 men, etc. Plus being persecuted everywhere they went.

There is a different type of "narcolepsy" that has crept into our world in these last days. Even into our churches. We are being lulled to sleep by Satan and his schemes. Just look at the world around us.

Lawlessness, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, the murder of innocent lives, sexual perversions, deceptions, idolatry, I could go on and on. And many of these things have so invaded our society that they have woven their way into our laws. Even into The Church!

It is just as Jesus asked, "Couldn't we keep watch for even one hour?" Apparently not. So, what do we do? Jesus tells us.

“Watch out that no one deceives you." - Matthew 24:4

Too late. The world has already been deceived. So, now what? There is only one hope. His name is Jesus.

Yes, Jesus died. He was crucified. The same thing happend to many Christians in Jesus' day. The difference, and it is a HUGE difference, is that Jesus rose from the dead.

Yes, there are other examples of this happening to others in the Bible. Lazarus, for example. Only God has the power to raise the dead.

We Christians believe that Jesus IS God, along with God The Father and The Holy Spirit. Consider closely these words from Jesus.

"The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” - John 10:17-18

Have we laid down OUR lives for Jesus? Have we left our life of sin and turned to Jesus, our blessed hope, to have it raised again?

This is not a time to be sleeping. Rather, it is a time to be waking others up,  in Jesus' name. So get up and get out there!

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” - Ephesians 5:14

Throughout the Bible, God has ALWAYS left a remnant of believers, through persecutions, sickness, strife, and war. I encourage you today . . . become part of today's remnant. Believe in Jesus.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12

A 2AM Prayer

It's 2AM. Again. Why can't I sleep Lord? Is there something I have left undone? Is there something that You want me to do?

Why do I find myself wide awake when I should be sleeping, resting? It's like I have left something unfinished. Like a door unlocked or a faucet left running, there is unrest within me.

"Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?" - Psalm 43:5

My hope is in You, Lord. There is no one else who can do the things You do. You have power over ALL things. So, why am I awake? Why is my mind not sleeping when that is my desire?

I search in my heart, trying to discover the answer. Is there someone who needs a friend? A prayer? Is there someone I have not loved that you have given me?

So much is happening in this world right now. Such evil and strife. Violence, wars and rumors of wars, hunger, pestilence, earthquakes, floods. What is next, Lord?

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come." - Matthew 24:6

It's 3AM now. Will writing these words for You give me rest? I hope so. That is my prayer.

"Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." - Psalm 43:5

Time to put down the phone. Time to trust. Close the eyes. Rest.

And then this verse came calling.

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:17

And I awoke, and it was morning . . .

Rest Easy

When I close my eyes at night, I can literally fall asleep within the first few minutes. Wanna know how? Three things. Got your paper and pencil ready?

First, I make sure that I am physically active during the day. Yard work, disc golf, biking, hiking, you get the idea. An hour is good.

Second, I placed my faith in Jesus 18 years ago. Since that time I have had zero worries. Zero. God is in control. What do I have to worry about? I have concerns, but I NEVER get worried anymore.

And the third thing I do, to be able to fall asleep so quickly, is to recite Psalm 23 to myself after the lights go out. I have it memorized. Why Psalm 23? It's a good reminder of who is in control. It reminds me that, whatever happens, "the Lord is my Shepherd."

Try it sometime. Don't nod off now.

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." - Psalm 23

No matter what kind of day we have - good, bad, happy, or sad - we will always fall asleep quickly knowing that those reassuring words from King David are true.

Sleep well tonight my brothers and sisters. And may God bless you this week, and always.

The Wee Small Hours

A couple of nights ago I was on YouTube listening to music when I came across One More Light by Linkin Park. I watched the video. I probably shouldn't have.

Chester Bennington (lead singer) sang a song about suicide and how he cared when people chose to end their lives instead of talking to someone. Of course, Chester would later do the very thing he sang about, taking his own life in 2017. 

As the song repeated in my head I thought about all the people I have known who took the same sad option. Austin, Kameron, Bill, Jesse, Oksana.

So there I was, thinking about suicide victims at 3:00 AM. Perhaps if I wrote about it . . .

So, I jotted down some notes for this story on my phone. I then discovered I had already written a story about this topic. What now? It's 3:00 in the bloody morning! Lol! It's the wee small hours!

(Ding!)

And there you have it. The answer to getting songs out of one's head. Sort of. Change the song!

Now I'm on YouTube again, searching, only it's now 4 AM. . . . In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning . . .

(Ding!)

In the wee small hours of the morning,

When the whole wide world is fast asleep,

You lie awake and think about that girl,

And never ever think of counting sheep.

When your lonely heart has learned its lesson,

You'd be hers if only she would call.

In the wee small hours of the morning,

That's the time you miss her most of all.

And now, with THAT song playing in the background of my mind, I returned to bed and prayed for the families of my friends who are gone.

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." - Psalm 147:3

"The Lord is near to those who are discouraged; He saves those who have lost all hope. Good people suffer many troubles, but the Lord saves them from them all." - Psalm 34:18-19

When we find ourselves feeling sad, change life's soundtrack, and pray. You will find that soon you will be sleeping like a baby. And falling asleep as you pray is a wonderfully calming thing.

I slept like a rock. THEE Rock.

"Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm." - Matthew 8:24-26

In The Wee Small Hours - Chris Botti & Sting

The Joy Of Suffering

I had kind of a rough night last night, spending it sitting in a chair trying to sleep. Somehow I had strained my back and also gotten heartburn. It's a great combination. I'd recommend them both highly if you are looking for ways to get closer to God.

What do you do at night when you'd rather be sleeping but can't? The mind starts to wander. The next thing I knew, at 1:00 in the morning, was I was "sure" I was having a heart ache and how my family would have to clean up all my junk in the basement. And who was going to attend my funeral and what they would say about me?!? Lol!

Minds can be wild, untamed things. They tend to wander off by themselves and get into trouble, thinking about things they really shouldn't. But at least brains have one positive thing going for them - Christian brains that is. The Christian mind, eventually, will turn to God for help in times of need or trouble.

Yes, I prayed last night. I think we all do that when things get bad enough. Pain is a great pastor. It reminds us of just who is in charge and who it is that has the power to heal and restore.

I woke up this morning and the heartburn was gone. The pain in my back had subsided. I thanked God for watching over me and taking care of me.

Some people might ask, "How do you know that it was God who made you feel better?" To that I reply, "How do you know it wasn't Him?" Believe what you want. "As for me and MY house" . . .

"And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” - Joshua 24:15

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, a whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

The thing pain and suffering teach us about life is that we must trust and rely on God more than we do. And is that such a bad thing? No. But I DO think we need to thank God for the reminders and pay more attention to Him than we do. We should be grateful that we have a God who loves us and cares about us enough to rebuke us and teach us lessons we need to learn them.

What pain would YOU like to get rid of today? Is it painful enough for you to get on your knees and pray? I hope so. That's where the healing begins.

Healing Begins - Tenth Avenue North

Can't Sleep?

Some people have trouble falling asleep at night. Not me. My problem is waking up in the middle of the night THEN trying to get back to sleep. How about you? What keeps you up at night?

For me, once my mind gets going at two or three AM, it's hard to shut it off. I find myself thinking about one thing after another. Next thing you know an hour has gone by. How about you? Do you find yourself awake at night when you really don't want to be? What do YOU do?

Sometime during my nocturnal awake time I invariably ask myself. "What are you doing? What are you thinking about? It's 3AM!" The keyword is "focus".

That's when I pray - to get my mind off things of this world and re-focused on things above.

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." - Colossians 3:1-2

When I begin praying about the people in my life or the thankfulness I have for all that God has done, I find that my singular focus calms me and reigns in my brain to the point where God alone is in my head. That is a wonderful place to be. And that's where it should be.

Dreaming of Eden - Skillet

Problems Sleeping?

Lately I have been having trouble sleeping through the night. Like for the last several years. Why is that? I suppose one could say that my body is changing as I get older. That's true. I AM getting older and my body seems to change almost daily. But is that it?

Something wakes me up at night. Sometimes I have to go to the bathroom, sometimes I hear the wind or the rain, sometimes it's a passing Harley coming home at 2:00AM. Some thing always seems to wake me up. And that's the problem.

Once I am awake my mind takes over and I begin to think about crazy stuff. Like last night I heard it begin to rain. I started thinking about whether it was actually rain or wind. If it was wind, did it blow the tarp off the things I have covered? Were they getting wet?

You see what I mean? So how does one get back to sleep?

Last night I opened up the Bible app on my phone so I could read in the dark. I read five chapters in the Book of John - at 1:00AM. Reading usually makes me sleepy but the chapters I was reading was mainly Jesus speaking. That proved very calming to me.

So, the next time you can't sleep try reading God's Word. Not that it's boring, it's calming. It reminds us that, even though the world seems to be falling apart around us, God is in control. He is still sitting on His throne and we are his beloved children. We shouldn't have a care in the world.

"Be still, and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." - Colossians 3:15

In His Presence - 3 Hours of Peaceful Music and Scripture